4 Things For the Fourth



In commemoration/remembrance/celebration/whatever of the 4th of July, I would like to share 4 things that I am grateful for today:


  1. I am grateful that I am not sick!  Susie was throwing up a lot last night and a bit today too-- not fun!  We analyzed her symptoms a lot, and after narrowing things down, we decided that it must be heatstroke!!  (We were in the sun sooooo much yesterday, running around to organize the children for the Gentri music video (we are certain that we worked harder than anyone else the whole day!!!  No joke!  Nothing could happen until we had the kids ready, and we had to literally stay with the program every step of the way!  While we worked, other drank water and chilled.  While they worked, we still worked to make sure everything went according to plans with the kids!!  Okay, rant over.)  So basically, I'm super grateful that I'm not sick with her!  We think that I didn't get sick because my body is more used to the heat since I've been here longer... but who knows!  It's just good to know that if either of us gets sick, the other can still teach the classes with full force.  On that note, I was still very impressed with Susie because she came to every class and did what she could to stay involved!  She never complained once in front of the students, and she kept a smile on her face most of the time.  Her diligence and perseverance inspires me.  I'm grateful for her example!  I just have to keep reminding her to slow down so that she does't prolong the healing/recovery process, haha.
  2. I'm grateful that the power didn't go out once today-- at least not that I know of :)  (Knock on wood...)  It's really not that big of a deal when it does, but it's always nice when the power stays on so electrical things can function properly :)  Little things make a difference!
  3. I'm grateful for Gracy.  Gracy is a student on the Life Dance Troupe that is a silent leader.  As I have come to know her better, I have found that although she is fairly quiet, she is a bold person in her actions.  Lucky for us, she is bold in the way that she is obedient when other are not.  She gives 100% when others choose to be lazy.  She smiles even when things are hard.  She waits for instruction when others choose complain and whine.  Gracy is a blessing to me.  So when I felt the most drained and discouraged today, Gracy was there with a smile on her face and a willingness in her heart to follow instructions.  She made a difference in my life today.
  4. I'm grateful for clean drinking water.  After finishing class with Life Dance, I needed to refill my water bottle-- I was so thirsty!  The dining hall was filling with students and house mothers, so I knew I needed to hustle before things got more crowded.  I walked over to one of the clean-water faucets to find a few of my 3rd standard students there filling their own water bottles.  One of them wanted to help me, so I allowed her to turn the water faucet on and off for me.  Well, she ended up filling the bottle too much so the lid wouldn't close properly on my water bottle, so guess what I did?  I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I poured a small amount of water out of my bottle (maybe an 8th of a cup) so I could put the lid on.  Immediately after doing this, all three girls looked at me with solemn faces and said "Don't waste clean water."  I felt so bad!!  At first I tried to justify my actions, but then I realized the better action would have been to drink the water from the top so that I could put the lid on!  This embarrassing event reminded me how valuable clean water is here-- and water in general!!  I am grateful for it, and I realize that I take it for granted far too often!  I'm grateful for these three young girls who were bold enough to teach me this lesson.  They can hardly speak English as it is, but they definitely understand the importance of not wasting water.
BONUS:
I'm grateful for God's answer to our prayers.  For anyone that has been praying on my behalf since my blog post a couple nights ago, I want you to know that God has been hearing our prayers and has been answering them in favor of our requests.  My problems have not been washed away and there are still difficult things I need to face, yet I feel a calmness despite the trials.  I feel that there is hope, and that everything will get better with time.  I know He's answering our prayers-- I can feel it.  I really can.  So thank you!

There are many other things that I could write about, but I'm going to leave it at this!  Thank you for caring! :)   And Happy Fourth of July!


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